The price of gas is going up, and the price of cars with better gas mileage and/or hybrids, is also going up.  Is it time for a “National Car”, like the original Volkswagen, the “peoples car” in Germany, during WWII?  Low priced, rugged, reliable, economical to run and repair. I know I can’t afford to buy a Prius or any of the gas/electric hybrids.  Which car company is actually addressing THIS problem?  None, I would guess, as they are seeing their current profits tanking, and LOTS of SUV’s and big Pickup trucks sitting unsold on lots.  The hybrid Tahoe has only sold about 1,000 units thus far.  They are NOT moving like hotcakes!  Spread the word.

A friend of mine on one of the BBQ foodie lists I’m on got me started on this adventure, with his poaching eggs in lard, and cooking Naan bread on this thing.  Along with some fajita and country breakfast photos on the website…..  Sooooo… I ordered last week from Southwestdisk.com a Discada, a kind of Mexican, flattened Wok.  It is made from a blank Plow Disk, handles welded on, and then heated and preseasoned.  I’ll be doing some Fajitas this weekend I think.  This thing shipped from NM on Friday morning and, amazingly, arrived this Monday morning.  22 inches in diameter, and weighing in at 22 lbs, its about a 1/4 inch thick.  I’ll be using my, mostly unused, turkey frier for heat.   This is what got it all started.  Bill Ackerman poaching eggs in lard for Huevos Rancheros  

  Here’s the newest members of the household: Big Boy and Little Boy.  So tame they follow me or Buddee around like dogs.  Like to be scratched behind their ears.  Very tame and tractable.  Neighbor is finishing up R.N. Studies and just doesn’t have time for them.

Here’s a good one.  Two round-button-like, Gold-plated magnets you put on your LEFT ear.  They attach magnetically… one on each side of the LEFT ear.   Called ZeroSmoke, they are on the “accupressure” site on your ear that supposedly releases “endorphins” into the brain, that “reduces” your desire to smoke, thus helping you stop smoking.   The website, www.freezerosmoke.com, calls it: “Safe Magnetic Auricular Therapy”.   (”Auricular”, in the Oxford Dictionary is defined as: of or relating to the ear.)  The “qualifying” statement is: MAY help you become smoke-free in “as little” as 14 days. They offer a 14-day FREE trial, but of course want your Credit Card number first….  which WILL be charged, of course.  OR…  for YOUR convenience, you can pay using PayPal.  $6.95 S&H in the U.S. for 14-days.  If you don’t send these “gold-plated magnets” back, they bill you $39.95!  Good luck with that. If you decide to try it, and it doesn’t work….  please let me know how easy it is to get a refund.  I’ll publish any and all results here.

Anyone else noticing that the amount of Penis, Viagra, Cialis and Credit SPAM has dropped off enormously since the holidays are over??   I’ve gone from 60-100 a day down to just 10-25.  Which, in my opinion is a vast improvement.  Between my onboard SPAM filter and my ISP’s Barracuda filter…. almost none of that stuff ended up in my inbox over the past 3 months. But a few are beginning to sneak past the filters now.  But only 2-5 a day. Later.

Has anyone, anywhere, at any time ever heard a woman say: “I’m having a Happy Period!”??

Just finished lunch/dinner/tomorrows breakfast and probably late night snack.  I can hardly move.
Alex and Annie just left, and left me what leftovers there were.
Chicken etouffe stuffed with shrimp and rice. Boudin…. with a nice molasses and spicey mustard dipping sauce.Had Cuke rounds, rice and cornbread for sides.  Never did get to the watermelon, but we made a big dent in the Pecan/Maple Brittle.
OH My LAWD!!  I’m stuffed full!!!

Waiting for my friend Alex and his wife Annie to show up.  They just returned from vacation on the mainland where they visited Alexio’s home state and a bunch of far flung relatives in both Louisiana and Texas.  They returned with ….  CAJUN FOOD!!! So, today we dine on etouffe and boudin.  I made corn bread, pecan-maple brittle and got a watermelon.  We’ll probably cook a pot of rice. I’m waiting impatiently!

I just did a quick bit of math on my coffee hobby.  I buy green coffee beans grown in different parts of the world, carefully roast them on the basis of suggestions and recommendations of Tom at SweetMarias.com; in a programmable iRoast 2 roaster.  I buy 12 lbs at a time, (12 lbs fits a USPS Flat Rate box for $9.85 S&H)  12 lbs lasts me approx. 4 months, plus or minus a little bit.  I drink 16 oz of coffee every morning.  The coffee’s I usually buy from sweetmarias.com are in the range of $6- $8 a lb. but the price is discounted when you buy multiples of a pound.  I roast about 300 grams of coffee every 5-7 days.  This latest batch cost me $63.75, but say I buy a batch that costs $80 for a 4-month supply.  I’m then paying only: $0.67 a cup, or less, depending on the kind of coffee I buy!!  Try that with the “coffee of the day” from your local barrista!!!  (Tom is currently in India seeking coffee harvested from the tallest coffee trees in the world.  According to his newsletter they are neither Arabica nor Robusta, but Coffea Liberica.  This coffee must be harvested using tall ladders.  I can hardly wait to sample some of this coffee.)

Tom also talks about a Yemeni “tea” called Keshir, which is made from the skins of the traditionally dry process Yemeni coffee beans which they will try to make available in February.

I’ve just put into motion the steps to move the horse Fresca to a horse ranch up the mountain in Mountainview, Max the donkey is going to a new home and I will have one or more sheep to keep the “lawn” mowed.  My routine, (OUR routine, Buddee and me), will change a bit, but feeding times will still be about the same.  leddahs!